In their aim to reach the deepest parts of the 5 oceans in the world, Victor Vescovo, a diver from the Five Deeps Expedition, along with his team, was exploring 23,596 feet deep in the Indian Ocean, which is believed to be the ocean’s deepest part, when they spotted what seemed to be a new species of jellyfish or an unknown sea squirt.

The Five Deeps team captured footage of the creature, from DSV Limiting Factor, the world’s deepest diving, currently operational submarine, calling it an “extraordinary gelatinous animal” which “does not resemble anything seen before.”

The creature is believed to be a tunicate, particularly a stalked ascidean, also known as a sea squirt.

“Amongst many other rare and unique observations, the stalked Ascidean was a really significant moment,” Alan Jamieson, the expedition’s chief scientist, said in a statement. “It is not often we see something that is so extraordinary that it leaves us speechless. At this point we are not entirely sure what species it was, but we will find out in due course.”

Find out more about this mysterious creature on Geek.com.

(Image Credit: Five Deeps Expedition/ YouTube)

It's summer time in the tropics and it would be great to go out to the beach, ride the waves, and get tanned. Or just soak in cool waters. Of course, we are always admonished to put on sunscreen.

But a recent research has urged legislators to ban the use of sunscreens with chemical ingredients oxybenzone and octinoxate, saying that these can potentially cause coral bleaching and even hormonal imbalances.

For his 2015 study, Downs' lab placed coral larvae, which are just a couple of millimeters long, into the tiny wells of microplates filled with artificially created seawater containing oxybenzone at "environmentally relevant" concentrations measured in parts per million, parts per billion, and parts per trillion. The larvae reacted by losing their cucumber-like shape and turning white, indicative of bleaching.

The methods with which the study was conducted has been met with skepticism however, as the conditions may not reflect a realistic environmental situation wherein these chemicals could somehow make a large impact on corals.

Eric Hochberg says he believes Downs' research offers weak evidence that oxybenzone is actually damaging corals because the experiment's laboratory conditions "completely lack realism." Hochberg is working on his own study by placing corals in tanks with flowing water containing concentrations of oxybenzone that match those found in water samples around Bermuda.

Another thing that may cause some concern with using these sunscreens has to do with their effects on health.

Beyond corals, some scientific evidence has shown that oxybenzone may produce harmful effects in mammals and fish by mimicking estrogen in the body and disrupting the endocrine system, which produces and regulates hormones.

For now, further evidence that would indicate clear environmental detriment might be needed before a widespread ban on sunscreens containing these two ingredients is implemented. Otherwise, we would need to find another way to protect ourselves from the sun.

(Image credit: Bill Branson/Wikimedia Commons)

Checking on the health of coral reefs is vital now more than ever especially with the threat of more bleaching events happening due to worsening climate conditions.

As it stands, it might take the Great Barrier Reef at least a decade to recover from the subsequent bleaching events it endured in just the past four years. But trying to assess coral reefs' condition is painstakingly tedious and expensive.

(Image credit: skeeze/Pixabay)

On the other hand, scientists looked into using DNA material expelled by marine organisms into the water, also known as environmental DNA (or eDNA), as a means of making the process a lot easier.

Now, scientists from the University of Hawaii at Manoa have discovered that it also works for coral surveys. Utilizing a single-step "metabarcoding" process, marine biology grad student Patrick Nichols and Assoc. Prof. Peter Marko were able to identify all of the coral DNA sequences present in one water sample.

(Image credit: joakant/Pixabay)

In celebration of Earth Day, Google has created a doodle that features six different wildlife with some superlative qualities. From the tallest to the oldest, these creatures are just some of the reasons why we should take care of Earth and do what we can to preserve it. -via Live Science

(Image credit: Google)

This video short called Cracks aired on Sesame Street in the mid-'70s. Jon Armond was six years old and found it traumatizing. But he never saw the short again, and never encountered anyone else who remembered it ...until the rise of the internet. There he found many other people in his situation, who remembered the short but after it disappeared weren't sure if they had imagined it. Together they searched for information on the clip.

But they still couldn’t find the video itself, and Children’s Television Workshop, which produces Sesame Street, was of no help at the time. Still, after making inquiries, Armond eventually got a fax from an unknown, untraceable number promising to send him the copy of “Cracks,” as long as he agreed never to screen it in public, post it online, or send it to anyone else. Armond signed the agreement, and six months passed before he found a manila envelope in his mailbox with a DVD inside. The note read: “We trust this completes your search.” There was no return address, no postmark, and no postage.

Daniel Wilson of the Lost Media Wiki received an email copy of Cracks in 2013, just as mysteriously, but made from a different copy. Since he signed no agreement as Armond did, Wilson uploaded it to YouTube. Slate has the story of the lost and found Sesame Street video in a podcast. They even found the woman who recorded the audio for the short.  -via Metafilter

Matt Benedetto has Unnecessary Inventions for you — products that are so creative (but useless) you’d want to have one.

Sunglasses not too dark for you? Fret no more for this SunShaders™ — a shader for your shades.

Want to shade yourself from the sun’s heat or from the rain, but don’t want your hands full? Get this Hoverbrella™ and enjoy walking around as it follows you wherever you go.

These and more on Twisted Sifter.

(Image Credit: Unnecessary Inventions by Matt Benedetto / Instagram)

Before humans was nature. Without the natural environment, humans would not have lived and had no chance roaming the Earth. But now, we humans have populated the Earth and we have made technological innovations through the course of time. But all of those technological innovations, breakthroughs, and inventions have a heavy price, and that price would be the Earth’s one and only Mother Nature — the very environment who freely gives us its plants and animals. This brings us to a question: can human beings and nature co-exist? Do we humans protect nature, or are we destroying it?

That’s the conceit of Atmos, a new magazine launched this month that’s an “exploration of climate and culture.” The first issue focuses on the theme of neo-natural—an idea about how (or even whether) humanity and nature can co-exist anymore—and among the features is a series of photographs of the Amazon rainforest by Daniel Beltrá. The Spanish-American photographer’s work reveals how nature is ceding ground, both literally and figuratively, to the built environment.

The images show the stark lines of farmers’ fields pushing against the unruly Amazon rainforest, mines carved into hillsides, logs stacked in a manmade clearing, or a pancaked brazil nut tree outlined by tractor tracks like chalk outlining a murder victim. They also show how the divide between the built and natural environment can sometimes smear together, with trees popping out raw dirt or a flock of scarlet ibises crosses the flooded Amazon lowlands.

Below are some of the stunning images by photographer Daniel Beltrá.

We have only one Earth. Let us not abuse it.

More of these at Earther.

(Image Credit: Daniel Beltrá / Atmos)

Why is the sun’s outer atmosphere hotter than its surface? This phenomenon may be explained by the “plasma rain” found pouring down on the surface. Fancy dancing in the (plasma) rain?

Compared to rain on Earth, plasma rain on the sun is millions of degrees Fahrenheit hotter. Also, plasma, which is an electrically charged gas, doesn't pool like water on Earth. Instead, the plasma traces the magnetic field lines, or loops, that emerge from the sun's surface, according to the statement.

In addition, the researchers found that plasma where the magnetic loops attach to the sun's surface is superheated, reaching over 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit (1 million degrees Celsius). This superhot plasma expands up the loop and gathers at the structure's peak. As the plasma cools, it condenses, and gravity pulls it back down the loop, creating coronal rain, according to the statement.

More of this literally hot news in Space.com.

(Image Credit: NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory/Scientific Visualization Studio/Tom Bridgman, lead animator)

A single gene and its variants may hold the key in developing a drug that could address obesity and regulate a person's appetite and metabolism.

Scientists have already been aware of the MC4R gene and its role in how people gain or lose weight. But scientists dug deeper and looked into a large collection of data that linked the gene to cases of obesity.

The study revealed 61 different MC4R gene variants, nine of which were associated with increased genetic activity. About six percent of the subjects studied were found to have one of the nine genetic variations, and those subjects displayed lower odds of obesity, diabetes and coronary artery disease.

With this information, it could pave the way for the development of a drug that would target this gene and its variants so that it could help people regulate their metabolism.

(Image credit: James Heilman/Wikimedia Commons)

We've had many posts about the odd gelatin recipes of the mid-20th century, the salads and main dishes made with Jell-O from recipes distributed by the company. They seem quite lowbrow now, an example of of very processed food put together as a craft of sorts. But gelatin dishes were once reserved for the very rich. Napoleon was a fan, and his chef Marie-Antoine Carême made artful creations from gelatin to impress guests. Carême later went on to cook for the kings of Russia and England.

But Carême’s love for gelatin and use of it in high-end cuisine was hardly a culinary aberration. From the early Renaissance through the early-20th century, gelatin “salads” and desserts were prestigious dishes and the provenance of master chefs. “Today, people who want to parade their wealth buy a Porsche,” argues Carolyn Wyman, author of Jell-O: A Biography. “In pre-industrial days, they would instead serve their guests fancy molded ice cream or gelatin desserts.”

The contrast between modern American and historic views of gelatin is striking. So why exactly was it such a valued food for so long? And how did it fall from grace?

The answer is the same as many other examples of conspicuous consumption -the pre-industrial gelatin desserts were difficult to make, and therefore costly. Read about gelatin desserts before Jell-O came along and made it ubiquitous at Atlas Obscura.

(Image credit: Roberta F.)

I'm a big fan of dry humor especially with perfect timing, it's comedic gold. And one would think that it would be quite difficult to pull that off in musicals or even movies without seeming forced or awkward. But that's what made Virginia O'Brien unique and ahead of her time.

Nicknamed "Frozen Face", "Miss Deadpan", and "Miss Ice Glacier", her comedic prowess was quite accidental and her discovery, serendipitous.

On her stage debut, she was supposed to deliver an ostentatious number but due to stage fright, she danced stiffly and with a frozen stare.

Reduced to tears in the wings after her debut that left the audience in laughter, the actress had no idea that her nervous energy would afford her the attention of Louis B. Mayer, of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and jumpstart her career as a comedic singer in some of the greatest movie musicals of the era.

(Image credit: IMDb)

Thinking of getting a dog? Many dogs have high intelligence levels hidden within them. Certain dog breeds have distinguished themselves as being more trainable. Here are the 10 best breeds to consider.

Via Amaze | Image: Wikimedia

This documentary looks at what could happen were a comet to smash into the Earth, as has happened on occasion in the past. The story is quite grim, but part 2 has some hope.  Just one of many reasons to prepare for civilization-ending calamities.

Margaret Owen was a 22-year-old Manhattan socialite with a wealthy father, so she had access to all that made life good in the 1920s. She loved the color blue, and in fact was so obsessed with blue that her apartment was decorated all in blue, and she wore blue clothing every day. When a pair of her stockings started to yellow, she got the blue dye out to restore them.

Everything was going fine until Lilly, one of Margaret’s two white Angora cats, came bounding into the room. When the curious, eight-month-old kitty dipped a white paw into the blue basin, Margaret clapped her hands in delight!

As it turns out, Margaret had recently bought blue leashes for her cats, because she had heard that women were walking their cats on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. She thought, wouldn’t it be romantic to be the mistress of a very beautiful blue cat that she could parade down the boardwalk? All she had to do was dunk her kitties, Lilly and Otto, in the blue water. Just like her stockings.

Margaret picked up little Lilly and dipped her in the bowl of blue water. Then it was Otto’s turn. Despite the cats’ howls, Lilly held them down in the water for about five minutes until she was sure the dye had taken. She took care not to immerse their heads—she used a piece of cotton dipped in the dye to swab their faces. (How very kind of her.) When she was all done, she wrapped the cats in an old blue towel and placed them on a blue cushion to dry.

Then Otto got sick, and the story became newspaper fodder. Read what happened to Owen and her cats in a guest post at Strange Company.

72-year-old Stephen Mckears was puzzled every morning when he would find hardware he left out on his workbench returned to their box. Using a wildlife trail camera, he discovered that a mouse was spending hours every night putting his tools back and tidying up his workspace.